The Fallen

Prologue

Extract from "A Brief Account on the History of Nidus" by Fluvius Hamren, 339-417 AE;

400 years ago the land was not a single entity, instead there were four human kingdoms; The Northlands, The Great Plains, The Riverfolk and the Heartlands, alongside these were the Wild lands of the south, home to the illusive elves, the great city of Nghorrach, bastion of the Dwarves and the Isle of Altum, homeland of the peaceful Gnomes. The territories of the Four were always shifting, as the storm of war swept the land the boundaries of the kingdoms flowed with it. Treaties and feuds were common place and never constant. However, while one kingdom might take the land of another, it was always temporary. Never was a single kingdom able to fully conquer a rival. Then, out of the ashes of this eternal conflict one man made a discovery that was to end it all. While studying with the Dwarves in Nghorrach, the legendary Prince Nidus, son of the King, observed the use of Acror in medicine. This mineral was unlike anything the young prince had ever seen. Pale blue in colour, edges seemingly sharper than a blade yet smooth to the touch and with a feel entirely foreign to the prince's hands. Knowing there must be more to this than he had seen so far, the prince vowed he would discover Acror's true potential. With careful experimentation, the future King did indeed manage to unlock the true power of Acror. Energy. Unrestrained and unlimited. For the first time in history there existed the means to end the fighting, to forge a new kingdom out of the fires of war and death.

Within a year Nidus managed to harness Acror's energy to create a new kind of weapon. A Gun. Within five he had perfected it. This new invention was the embodiment of death made real. It used the power of an Acror crystal contained within the stock to accelerate metal balls to unimaginable speeds, allowing them to penetrate the toughest armours with frightening ease. A mineral, once used solely for medicine, now had the power to crush nations. It was this development, alongside countless others both military and domestic, that led to the advancement of the forces of Nidus and the birth of a new kingdom. This new Kingdom was named Corcillum, in the tongue of the ancients, with all its major settlements following suit. So it was that under this banner, 372 years ago, the forces of the newly crowned King Nidus marched against the world.

The wars didn't last long. The first to fall were the Northmen, their brute strength and skill in battle helping little against the raw power of Acror. Their kingdom was placed under the rule of a governor hand picked by the King and, as is now the norm, was renamed Caelum in a genius effort to eradicate any sense of national pride its people may still have possessed. This pattern continued, war after war, victory after victory until all those who might stand against the King were defeated. For the first time in history, there was peace. This peace did not last long, for Nidus, after whom our glorious nation is named, sought new lands and therefore turned his gaze to the deserts of the south. The people who inhabited these lands, hermits and beggars to a man, put up little resistance and so this land of city states and lepers was renamed Meritum. It was at this moment that the land we know was born.

The new Kingdom was split into 7 provinces; Caelum – The land of the Sky, Pratum – The Meadow, Flumen – The River lands, Meritum – The Great Desert, the Isle of Altum and Corcillum – The Kingdom's Heart with the Arbor Lands, once a wilderness devoid of all but the elves who called it home, forming the seventh. For even these strange people who lived in the trees had fallen to their knees at the sight of Nidus' Divine power.

Now, almost 400 years later, the Kingdom forged by the God-Emperor Nidus remains, his descendants still on the throne. Proof of the Gods favour and a testament to the will and strength of the man who became one of them.

Long may he reign.

Extract from "Of Swords and Shields: A history of the Revolution" by Garret Kheldrin 543-612 AE

Some might say the revolution began with the attack on Sylvaren's village, and they would probably be right. However, this was not where it started. It started in the hearts and minds of the People of Nidus. In the year 491 AE, Luceus Machinor took up the mantle of High King and, within days of his ascension, he began to issue laws that would change the course of the future. The first to suffer were the elves, Luceus believed all non-humans to be second rate, and for reasons still unknown, to him elves were even less than that. The animosity of the general populace towards elves was a slow thing. Anger and hatred had been building for a while, these tall, graceful people had a majesty that man could never hope to achieve and envy had begun to build even before the crown touched Luceus' head. While we still do not know where his own personal hatred stemmed from, the new High King was quick to act on the feelings of the people to improve his own standing. At first his laws were fairly passive, they were cruel and unjust do not misunderstand me, but they were practically kind compared to what was to come and they fitted the people's ideas of justice. It started with the banning of elves from government properties, this meant they were no longer allowed audiences with officials or to seek medical help from government funded hospitals. Then the laws against elves took a violent twist. The next laws to pass saw the banning of elves, first from the streets of towns, and then the towns themselves. The High King had all but declared an entire race outlaws. Then, five years later when the elves of the cities had finally found their place in the camps of the Wild Ones, the laws turned truly ugly. Elves were no longer under the protection of the state. This was the beginning of what we now call the Arborian Massacre. Fanatics from local cities, slavers and many of the most radical Machinites (supporters of the Machinor Regime) took up arms and marched into the wilds. Over the next few months it is believed that up to 70% of the remaining elves were either killed or enslaved with the remaining 30% scattering to the edges of the known world. It was during this violent period that the seeds of revolution were sown. The passing of the law was not a peaceful one, since the elves did not wish to go quietly, and there were many reports of attacks on travelling officials and even the local branch of the King's government in the city of Allatra was burnt to the ground with the help of locals opposed to the tyrannical regime of Machinor.

While the elves suffered the brunt of the racial hatred, they were not the only ones. The Dwarves of Nghorrach, from who's mighty halls comes the blessed Acror that lights up our glorious civilisation, experienced hostility whenever they left their underground homes and it is said that the only reason they were not invaded is that the King feared they would destroy the vast reserves of Acror and so bring ruin to the kingdom that was built upon it. The Gnomes of Altum too suffered abuse and they also were banned from government buildings. However, neither they nor the dwarves suffered as the elves did, and for this reason it was neither a Gnome nor a Dwarf that brought the Kingdom to its knees...